Readers are On Board with Tracks

Literary journals, magazines, newspapers, and book bloggers are one thing, but what do other authors and readers have to say about Tracks?




This.



"Goodman's Tracks is a most cunningly crafted tale—a perfect read for trains, planes and automobiles... or even for your armchair."

Madison Smartt Bell,
Author of All Souls’ Rising,
a National Book Award nominee



“… a terrific collection of stories. Short stories are often an under-appreciated art form. In Tracks, Eric D. Goodman takes the craft to the level of art. An exciting talent.”

Thomas Steinbeck,
Author of Down to a Soundless Sea
and In the Shadow of the Cypress



“From the first story in Eric D. Goodman’s novel in stories, Tracks, I knew I was in for an enjoyable ride. Goodman is a keen, compassionate and refreshingly un-ironic observer of the human condition. In Tracks, Goodman skillfully weaves stories of chance encounters, lost opportunities and new beginnings into a tight, colorful, breathtaking tapestry which he says is a train ride, but seems an awful lot like life.”

Bathsheba Monk,
Author of Nude Walker and
Now You See It ... Stories from Cokesville, PA



"Eric D. Goodman’s novel in stories, Tracks, allows the reader to journey with his characters in their moving and transforming destinies. Sincere and empathetic, Goodman delivers. These intertwined stories are melodious and brim with soulful compassion."

Victoria Patterson,
Author of Drift and
This Vacant Paradise



“Who among us hasn’t sat on a train and played at reading the minds of strangers? In this way, Tracks is a voyeuristic fantasy fulfilled. But here’s the real surprise: Once you have mental telepathy, it’s hard to call anyone a stranger anymore.”

Aaron Henkin,
Baltimore's NPR station, WYPR



"Eric D. Goodman's Tracks is an absolute delight. The beautifully-written stories of strangers riding the same train will hypnotically pull you in and captivate you to the very end."

Jessica Anya Blau,
author of Drinking Closer to Home and
The Summer of Naked Swim Parties



"... irresistible ..."

The Writer Magazine



"Goodman limns the lives of his characters—all travelers on the same train—with a light and sensitive touch, yet he manages to delve deep, right to their very hearts. By turns comic and poignant, these pilgrims are united in one significant way: they all seek to make sense of life’s unpredictable journey."

Yona Zeldis McDonough,
Author of Breaking the Bank,
In Dahlia's Wake and The Four Temperaments


“In Tracks, Goodman manages to capture the complicated push and pull of family, of friends, of history, of life—how it bears down on each of us, pulling us apart while simultaneously pushing us together. His characters are, in turn, compassionate, indifferent, bitter, sympathetic, wistful, and most of all, real. I recognized parts of myself in each one of them, and I imagine this is exactly what Goodman intended. Tracks is a wonderful debut.”

Mary Beth Keane,
Author of The Walking People



"A terrific use of the novel-in-stories as form, Eric D. Goodman’s Tracks does what so many of us wish we could do in our travels: peer beneath the surfaces of the lives that intersect ours, if only for a moment. As his narrative winds from car to car, Goodman explores the ways our urge to isolate ourselves is often in direct competition with the way we long to connect, as well as the many layers of love lost and found we carry with us wherever we go. Hopeful and well-imagined, Tracks skillfully captures what makes rail travel so compelling: that while cars or planes might be about traveling from place to place, the train is a place."

Rebecca Barry,
Author of Later, at the Bar


“Eric D. Goodman gets on board a fictional train from Baltimore to Chicago to tell the compelling stories of passengers taking inner journeys. From the couple who define the beauty of silence, to the last hurrah of a hit man, Tracks is insightful, engaging and, in so many ways, truly moving.”

Toby Devens,
Author of My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet)



"I have long been a fan of Eric D. Goodman's taut naturalistic fiction, so I came to Tracks with almost unfairly high expectations. I was not disappointed. Read these linked stories separately for their rich textures, their well-drawn characters, and their breathtaking moments of epiphany. Then read them again in sequence, allowing the cumulative power, the subtle connections and insights to reach their full force. Tracks is an unforgettable journey that cuts deep furrows in both the inner and the outer landscape."

Patry Francis,
Author of The Liar’s Diary


"Tracks presents a creative approach to addressing the complex issues in the real world and human nature. Eric D. Goodman provides intimate glimpses into the complex nature of a broad cross section of humanity traveling by train through the heartland of America. He integrates themes of familial bonds and fragments of lives and careers in jeopardy through the unique relationship of vividly drawn characters. Tracks is a refreshing narrative presented through deep reflections and vivid imagery that will propel readers into a page-turning adventure."

D.L. Wilson,
Author of Unholy Grail and
Sirocco


"In an age of twitter, microfiction, and small attention spans, the stories in Eric D. Goodman's Tracks are built on narrative fiction and the U.S. rail system, both of which are seemingly pronounced dead every new decade. But like a good meal, these stories of strangers on a train marinate and simmer, creating a flavor that is richer than their parts. Goodman's alternating harsh and tender stories travel the spectrum of human emotion, and his care for his characters is evident from the first page to the last. By the end, we have not only lived through every character, but we are every character."

Jen Michalski,
author of Close Encounters
and May-September



"In the best literary tradition of The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, and Spoon River Anthology, Goodman's novel-in-stories reveals the rich textures and patterns in the tapestry of human experience. Tracks is elemental storytelling."

D.R. Belz,
author of White Asparagus


"Who doesn’t love a train ride? And what a ride you’ll get with Eric D. Goodman’s Tracks. Hand your ticket to the conductor, join the other passengers in the lounge car, and listen to their stories as the landscape speeds by. You’ll enjoy meeting each of these characters, sharing their fears, their desires and their dreams, in this entertaining and thought-provoking novel-in-stories."

Pat Valdata,
author of Inherent Vice and
The Other Sister



“Eric D. Goodman's scintillating first novel-in-stories travels along several parallel plot-lines, introducing the reader in mesmerizing fashion to men and women and the train tracks which serve as the object of their reflections and obsessions. Tracks is a tour-de-force, mirroring in its original structure perhaps train tracks themselves. The Westward expansion of our country, the grind of the daily commute, urbanization, the Holocaust—Goodman encapsulates all of this, so much of history and contemporary living. In the process, Goodman captures something almost ineffable—trains are us and vice versa. If one of the goals of great fiction is to set forth into new fictional territory, Tracks is that. And then some.”

Nathan Leslie,
Author of Believers,
Madre, and Drivers


“In an age of commuter rush, virtual friends, and novels written in 140-character bursts, Eric D. Goodman reminds us of the richness of train travel or a good book: when the pace is slower, you never know what sort of souls will greet you.”


Gregg A. Wilhelm,
Executive Director
CityLit Project


“Eric D. Goodman is a virtuoso; he breathes life into each character in such a way that you want to know everything about them, and each story makes you want to read the next to see how these lives intersect. Even when Tracks ends, it continues in the mind, leaving you wanting to know more, thinking about not only the lives of these multi-faceted characters, but your own life and the lives of those around you. Life is a journey and Tracks captures that feeling in a way that few interconnected story collections do.”

Nancy Greene
Author of Portraits in the Dark


“Get on board Eric D. Goodman’s Tracks for a rollicking ride from Baltimore to Chicago with a passenger list of colorful characters, from a sleazy traveling salesman, an adulterous sculptress and a Holocaust survivor to a couple of kids in love, a woman returning home to Cincinnati from burying her parents in Baltimore, and a poet. Told in Goodman’s witty, confidential style, these stories – this long tale – are well worth the price of the ticket!”

Charles Rammelkamp,
Author of The Secretkeepers and
Castleman in the Academy


"If you're a regular listener to The Signal, you're probably familiar with the name Eric D. Goodman. His novel in stories, Tracks is set on a train traveling from Baltimore to Chicago. Each story takes the reader into the psyche of another passenger on the train."

Andy Bienstock,
Baltimore's NPR Station, WPYR


"A Tarantino-style LOVE ACTUALLY meets literary fiction — the reader journeys by train from Baltimore to Chicago via the perspectives of a diverse array of passengers."

Doris M. Michaels Literary Agency, Inc.


"If you only read one novel in stories set on a train this year, make it Tracks!



Amtrak Conductor


Want to learn more? Visit the Tracks website where you can read excerpts, listen to radio readings, and find out what others are saying about the book.

www.TracksNovel.com